Mysuru/Bengaluru: Three months after he exited power, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and his loyalists are back at centre-stage with Agriculture Minister Shivshankar Reddy firing the latest salvo on Monday saying Siddaramaiah could become the CM again if coalition partners-Congress and JD(S)- decide to do so in the coordination committee meeting.
Reddy's remarks, coming a couple of days after Siddaramaiah's comments about becoming CM again, has fuelled speculation that all is not well within the Congress-JDS coalition. Backing him was Basavakalyan Congress MLA B Narayan who said Siddaramaiah becoming CM again is as "truthful as the rise of the Sun" in the east. He sounded a note of caution for Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy remarking that "he should know very well that he is heading the government sitting on our shoulders as he has only 37 MLAs, whereas we have 80."
Some Congress insiders were dismissive of the voices of dissent emerging from within the party saying they were mere 'pinpricks' and part and parcel of coalition politics rather than destabilising tactics. They feel this is just an attempt by Siddu loyalists to reassert themselves and make sure their leader is not relegated to the sidelines - many of his pet schemes have already been downsized by the new Chief Minister. This is the only way they feel, they can ensure they can get their pound of flesh from the JD(S) which is hogging the limelight and is having its way in governance though it does not have even half the MLAs the Congress has.
